Welcome Oilfield Baby!

I am writing this in one of the first quiet moments I’ve had in several days. It will no doubt soon be interrupted by the stirring of our new baby girl, Litha. If you’ve read my previous posts you know that Litha was expected on June 21st, but it seems she had her own ideas about things and waited until nearly two weeks past her due date to make her appearance on July 3rd. The extra two weeks gave her enough time to pack on some serious size and she came into the world at a whopping 9lbs 11oz and 21in long.

We had an awesome home birth experience with an amazing midwife and her assistant and two doulas present. I know that homebirth is not for everyone, but for us it worked out very well. I was able to move about untethered to an IV or machines which really helped move things along faster than my first labor. And after it was all over we didn’t have to worry about our baby being taken away to a nursery or being constantly poked and prodded by various medical staff. There is, of course, a time and place for those types of measures, but thankfully, we did not need them. Having had an epidural with my first baby, I’m not going to lie and tell you that birthing at home without pain relief wasn’t incredibly painful, because, let me tell you, it was painful. However, the pain was fleeting and my recovery time has been exponentially faster this time around.

Unfortunately, the one thing that has been lingerly painful is the fact that, because our baby girl was so late, my husband had to return to North Dakota just a few day after she was born. I know that many of you oilfield wives out there have been through the same thing and it is incredibly hard. Thankfully, Jacob did get to spend some time with her and as you can see in the picture above, our little girl already has her daddy under her thumb! And as hard as it was to send my oilfield man back to the oilfield we are already making plans for the kids and I to return to North Dakota and resume living the camper life for the fall.

Well, I think I hear some baby stirrings so that means it’s time for feedings and baby snuggles!

Chelsea is mama to 4 year old Will and partner to her oilfield man and best friend of 16 years, Jacob. She splits her time between the family’s camper in the North Dakota Oil Patch and a small urban homestead in Kentucky. Chelsea writes about the family’s camper adventures at www.talesofanoilfieldgypsy.blogspot.com. She is a batik artist and loves teaching others about the art of batik at www.beautyofbatik.com. She can also be found working on her other sites www.chelseaniehaus.com and www.urbanagricultureinfo.com. In her moments of spare time she enjoys knitting, sewing and gardening.